Higher Rent Cap Limit in 2026 — AB 1482 Changes for Riverside, San Bernardino & Statewide CA
The New Ceiling, County by County
By BRIAN BEAN
Rental Home Advocate | Property Manager | Real Estate Broker
The ceiling on rent increases is going UP Aug. 1, buoyed by a higher inflation rate.
But does that really matter in today’s rental market? And how much CAN you increase rent anyway?
The California Tenant Protection Act, enacted in 2019, includes a cap on how much you can raise rent in a 12-month period. The law covers all rental homes in the state, though many can be considered exempt. And the rent control portion is tied to the consumer price index and resets every August.
In many counties this year, the cap is increasing. Here are the new benchmarks for some Southern California counties:
- Riverside-San Bernardino: 8.1 percent (up from 7.5 percent)
- L.A.-Orange County: 8.7 percent (up from 8 percent)
- San Diego County: 8.2 percent (down from 8.8 percent)
- SF Bay Area: 8.8 percent (up BIG from 6.3 percent)
- Statewide Rate (most other counties): 8.6 percent (up from 7.7 percent)
These statistics come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Industrial Relations (LINKS LISTED BELOW). The Tenant Protection Act resets the county-by-county rent caps each August against the consumer price index for April (or March in some counties).
Inflation rates for the new caps include, according to those indexes:
- Riverside-San Bernardino: 3.1 percent (up from 2.5 percent in March 2025)
- L.A.-Orange County: 3.7 percent (up from 3 percent in April 2025)
- San Diego County: 3.2 percent (down from 3.8 percent in March 2025)
- SF Bay Area: 3.8 percent (up BIG from 1.3 percent in April 2025)
- Statewide Rate (most other counties): 3.6 percent (up from 2.7 percent in April 2025)
The law sets its rent cap at the index CPI rate plus 5 percent, up to a maximum of 10%. So for the Inland Empire, 3.1 percent plus 5 is 8.1 percent. That benchmark will now be the new cap for 12 months starting Aug. 1.
IMPORTANT: We are not attorneys, and this is not intended as legal advice. This information is provided for educational and informational purposes only, to raise awareness about important issues for rental property investors like you. Consult with your attorney or CPA for guidance on your specific situation.
Is Your Home Exempt?
The rent increase caps apply to homes that fall under the Tenant Protection Act.
Many rental homes can be exempt from the law. To be exempt, the property must be either:
A. Less than 15 years old.
OR
B. A single-family home or condo not owned by a corporation, or an LLC involving a corporation, or a real estate investment trust.
AND
If the property is exempt, you must have provided written notice to your residents stating it is exempt, or you will not be allowed to claim the exemption.
Check with your attorney to determine if your rental is covered by the Tenant Protection Act.
If your property is exempt, the rent cap does not apply. You just have to abide by the lawful notice requirements for California, which is 30 days for increases up to 10 percent and 90 days for anything higher.
If you ARE covered by the TPA, you have a new set of numbers to apply.
What is the Real-World Impact?
But the real question is, will it matter? And the answer is …. It depends. Here’s why…
Rent price appreciation overall has cooled off the past year or so, especially when you compare it with the soaring rents nationwide the past decade.
Online tracker Zillow.com reports the average rent this month across all property types in the following cities:
- Riverside: $2,200 (down 4.3 percent from a year ago)
- San Bernardino: $1,895 (up 2.3 percent
- Los Angeles: $2,655 (down 4.5 percent)
- Anaheim: $2,481 (down 1 percent)
- San Diego: $3,095 (down 1.5 percent)
- Statewide: $2,700 (down 3.5 percent)
- Nationwide: $2,011 (down 4.8 percent)
In this environment, if your rental home is priced at or near market rent, you’re probably not jacking up the rent because you don’t want to create unnecessary vacancy.
But for homes priced well below market rent, those rent caps could have an impact.
We have a client who inherited a property with a long-term tenant. The previous owner had not increased rents for years, and the current rent is less than half of what it could be on the property. That property every year gets the maximum allowable increase.
Meanwhile, many exempt properties we leased just a year ago at market rate are being renewed with no rent increases.
Your property, your current situation, and the market conditions will determine your actions. Because the market is a more reliable guide than political ideology. And as a rental property investor, you’re running a business, one that requires that you make sound, educated decisions.
What’s Next?
Before you renew a lease or increase rent on your rental property, here are some steps to prepare:
- Determine your property status. Is it covered by the Tenant Protection Act, or exempt? Check with your legal counsel.
- Know your numbers. Find the current CPI rate for your county to determine your maximum rent raise.
- Get accurate comps. Use recent and reliable data to determine the current market rent for your property. This is not a simple Zillow search. If you need help, find someone with access to real numbers.
Now, armed with that information, you are on the right track to make the best business decision.
Successful investors focus on the big picture, not just on maximizing rent. They subscribe to the 5 Profit Centers of Rental Properties. They understand that keeping great residents in place minimizes vacancy, which is THE biggest profit killer for a rental home.
And if the rent is already at market rate, they lock in their renters for another year and celebrate the win.
Have questions about how much you can raise rent on your rental home, or anything related to the right and profitable way to run a rental property, call me directly at 951-314-5402.
You can also find valuable information on our website, dreambigpm.com.
BLS Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CPI:
https://www.bls.gov/regions/west/news-release/consumerpriceindex_riverside.htm
BLS Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CPI:
https://www.bls.gov/regions/west/news-release/consumerpriceindex_losangeles.htm
BLS San Diego-Carlsbad CPI:
https://www.bls.gov/regions/west/news-release/consumerpriceindex_sandiego.htm
STATEWIDE: California Department of Industrial Relations — CPI Calculator:
https://www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/CPI/CPICalculator/CpiCalculator.aspx
#CaliforniaLandlord #PropertyManagement #InlandEmpire #RiversideCA #AB1482 #RentalProperty #TenantProtectionAct
California’s AB 1482 rent cap is rising in most counties starting August 1, 2026 — but actual rents are cooling off across Southern California. See the new caps for Riverside, San Bernardino, LA, Orange County, and San Diego, plus what it means for your rental property.
Related Reading
- Inland Empire Rent Increases: How the New 2025 Caps Affect YOUR Property
- How Much Can You Legally Raise Rent in Riverside, California — and Why You Should
- 2026 California Rental Property Laws: Summary and Your Action Plan
Full Transcript
Transcript of the video above — Brian Bean, Broker/Owner and Rental Home Advocate, Dream Big Property Management. CA DRE #01346382. Lightly edited for readability.
The cap on rent increases is going up this August, but does it matter in today’s market? And how much can you increase rent anyway? Stay tuned for details.
Hi, I’m Brian Bean with Dream Big Property Management here in Riverside, California. We help people just like you become intentional rental property investors. Well, it’s time for the annual adjustment on California’s rent control ceiling, which occurs every August, and it locks in a maximum for how much some landlords can increase rent on their properties. In many counties, the cap this year is increasing.
Here’s how we got here, by the way. In 2019, California passed the Tenant Protection Act, which includes a cap on how much you can raise rent every year. The Tenant Protection Act covers all rental homes in the state, but many can also be considered exempt. The rent control portion of that law is tied to the consumer price index, and it resets every August.
This year in the Inland Empire, that cap is increasing. Same for LA and Orange counties, while in San Diego the max is actually decreasing. Now, those are the headlines. But the real question is, is it going to have any effect on you anyway? And the answer is, it depends.
Before we dive in here, a reminder: I’m not an attorney. This is not intended as legal advice. Our purpose here today is simply to raise awareness about important issues for rental property investors like you, so that you can then go out, find the right experts, ask the right questions, and consult with your attorney or CPA for guidance on your specific situation.
Now, based on the consumer price index as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — I’m going to post a link on the website in the show notes — inflation hit 3.1% in Riverside–San Bernardino in March this year. The law sets the rent cap at that month’s CPI rate plus 5%, up to a maximum of 10%. So 3.1 plus 5 is 8.1%. That benchmark will now be the new cap for Riverside–San Bernardino for 12 months starting August 1st.
Currently, by the way, the Inland Empire rent cap is 7.5%, based on a CPI of 2.5% in March of the previous year. In LA–Orange County, the new rent cap starting in August is 8.7%, up from the current 8%. And in San Diego County, the new cap will be 8.2%, down from 8.8%. Most other counties in Southern California use the statewide rate, which is increasing to 8.6%. By the way, we’re reciting statistics from the BLS website, but please do your own research to determine the allowable limit for your property.
So the rent increase cap applies to homes that fall under the Tenant Protection Act. If your home qualifies to be exempt from the TPA, this is probably not relevant to you — unless you didn’t dot your i’s and cross your t’s. Because to be exempt, the property must be either less than 15 years old, or it must be a single-family home or condo not owned by a corporation, or an LLC involving a corporation, or a real estate investment trust. And if the property is exempt, you must have provided written notice to your residents that it is exempt, or you’re not allowed to claim the exemption.
I’m going to keep saying this: check with your attorney to determine if your rental is covered by the Tenant Protection Act. If you get it wrong, it could be very expensive.
If your home is exempt, the rent cap does not apply. You just have to abide by the lawful notice requirements for California, which is 30 days for increases up to 10% and 90 days for anything higher.
If you are covered by the TPA, you have a new set of numbers to apply. But once again, we come back to the real question: will it matter? The answer still is, it depends. Here’s why.
Rent price appreciation overall has cooled off the past year or so, especially when you compare it with the soaring rents nationwide the past decade. Online tracker Zillow.com reports the average rent this month for Riverside is $2,200. That’s down 4.3% from a year ago. In San Bernardino, it’s up 2.3%, to $1,895. LA is down 4.5%. Anaheim is down 1%. San Diego is down 1.75%. Statewide, it’s down 3.5%. And nationwide, it’s down 4.8%.
In this environment, if your rental home is priced at or near market rent now, you’re probably not jacking up the price, because you don’t want to create an unnecessary vacancy. But for homes that are priced well below market rent, those caps could have an impact.
We have a client who inherited a property with a long-term tenant, and the previous owner had not increased rents for years. The current rent is less than half of what it could be on the open market. That property every year gets a maximum allowable increase. Meanwhile, many of our exempt properties we leased just a year ago at market rent, and they’re now being renewed with no rent increases.
So it does depend on your property, your current situation, and the market conditions on your block. The market is a more reliable guide than political ideology. And as a rental property investor, you’re running a business — one that requires you to make sound, educated decisions.
So, will the new rent cap affect you this year? It depends on the answers to the following questions.
First, determine your property status. Is it covered by the Tenant Protection Act, or are you exempt? Check with your legal counsel.
Second, know your numbers. Find the CPI rate for your county to determine your maximum rent raise, and then use recent and reliable data to determine the current market rent for your property. This is not a simple Zillow search. If you need help, find someone with access to real numbers.
Now, armed with that information, you’re on the right track to make the best business decision. Wise investors focus on the big picture, not just maximizing rent. They subscribe to the five profit centers of rental properties. They understand that keeping great residents in place minimizes vacancy, which is the biggest profit killer for a rental home. And if the rent is already at market rate, they lock in the renters for another year and they celebrate the win.
If you have questions about how much you can raise rent on your rental home, or anything related to the right and profitable way to run a rental property, call me directly: 951-314-5402. I’m happy to share.
You can also find valuable information on our website, dreambigpm.com. And if you found this information useful, we have more — check it out. Punch that subscribe button and leave us a review. It helps others find us, and we’ll alert you when new episodes are posted. Don’t be accidental about your future. Be intentional to your success.